07:45 AM EDT, 08/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Merck ( MRK ) said Wednesday it has received approval from Health Canada for its Keytruda anti-PD-1 therapy treating adult patients with resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The approval is for the therapy of patients with the disease whose tumors expressed PD-L1 with a combined positive score of greater than or equal to 1, as neoadjuvant treatment monotherapy, continued as adjuvant treatment in combination with radiotherapy (RT) with or without cisplatin and then as monotherapy, the company said.

The approval is based on data from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-689 trial, which demonstrated positive clinical outcomes in patients with the disease, Merck ( MRK ) said.